Think Less, Act More

Samurai. The superhuman warriors of Japanese history, lived by a code called Bushido, that inspires many people including me. Being enamored with all things Samurai, I stopped scrolling for a few seconds to enjoy these images from Akira Kurosawa’s “Throne of Blood” on the NiteHawkCinema Instagram feed.

The intensity of Toshiro Mifune’s eyes in this image pulled me right in. I also love the black and white photography and composition of this image. That silver slice through the top of the image and the face framed by the armor. But those eyes… captured on real film back in the late 1950s, a moment created for a movie, seventy plus years later filtered through Instagram (not the ideal way to enjoy an image), chopped down and out-of-context, but damn, THOSE EYES… They burn to stare back at and tell the whole tragic, violent tale.

Here’s my take. I didn’t quite get that stare up to eleven like I wanted, but there’s another quality in the stare I drew that is maybe more autobiographical and that is why I do this, to learn something about myself.

The Samurai are remembered for a flash of a sword and a level of honor so high that they would take their own life before being dishonored. They were men of purpose and action, and I aspire to live that kind of life. Less thinking, more action. More drawing, writing, acting and creating, and less time spent overthinking ideas or worrying too much about whether I have the creative chops to bring an idea to life. At times it seems to be more of a struggle then it was when I was younger.

So, less thinking, more action.

These days, we all need to shine a bit more light out there and spread that kindness around. that’s the kind of action I’m working on too.

Keep smiling,

OK HW